New-York tribune., 1887-10-23
SPANIARDS IN CUBA.
HOW THE COLONIsTs ARE PLUNDERED
AND OPPRESSED.

which should be Of special interest to the people OF the
United states for other reasons than that 1t furnishes
a vivid presentation OF tho dcplOrabe results OF
Spanish mIsrule in cuba Not very long English
opinion was Of almost more importance to Americans
han their opinion Of themselves. You were apt to
meet ccnsure from abroad in spirit of wIathiul re-
sentiment, and to throw yourselves into spasms Oh
vlrtuous rage over tho paltiy Of supcrclous
visitors from the o d World. Happily you have out
grown all such juvenile weaknesses; and today the
travelling Bron, who leaves your shores after fort
nights scampcr through the country, and hurts at
you a token of his stupidity in volume Of concen-
tratcd prejudice and spleen is only well laughed at
for his ans But It Is doubtful whether even In the
worst days Of English antagonism, Americans were
the victims of such savage onslaught d. tha'
made recently Cuba by an author OF Madrid. 1ho
oihcr day ono Francisco Morcno a naughty CaStiTan,
who had carried his pride and his pcdgree on TRIP
across the Atlantic, sat himself down in the shadow
Of the Icra del Sol to record the impressions OF MS
VISIT to the Pearl Of the Antilles; and he has recorded
them with such absolute imparality and such uncom-
promising candor to set all Cuba by the cars FOR
the aniale Moreno was born with -moudering haired
Of everything cuban which burst into uncontroHAD'
namo the moment hc began to write ana he mas CON
scqucnly failed discover that fine sense OF d"Hcacy
and that chivalro,s consideration for the feelnG' or
Others which should govern the zen Of true hlGaSo'
NO word in his vocabulary is indeed too strong to cx
'"''''0N''
have turned the most beautiful country human
eyes havo seen" into Ithe theatre of all the horrors
Of tho moral world" They are distinguished for
nothing but cowardice. extravaganza and sloth' Inc
corruption Of the body polite is equalled only by the
corruption Of the body social The women are lovely
i. ruo but drcadfIlly naughty. The press is venal:
the badly paved. the sewerage Is drfoctvc
no respect Is aid to religion and the hotels are vil'
Aspcr-i0ns such a these might we'll arouse the ire
Of an innocent people, and senior Cabrcra'' "Oppor-
tune notifications" a no calls them, Intended az
sort Of patriotic cOunicIblast. But his tone - com
moadably calm and dgnlfed lie has no ta'to for
nero vitur craton and instead Of rcp' ing 10 pru-
dice with scunility, he meets each charge ana dea'S
with 1t -quacly and fairly, pilng facts on figures ana
figures on facts in way that not only gives the ile
10 his raluccr but shows that the spaniarl' them
selves bavo made of the island what it sa nest of
tyrants and corruptlon-ts, and stronghold Of tho
most niqutous colonial system in the world. The
visitor to cuba does need To In search OF abuses
they stare him in tho face In Havana. for instance,
he passes through streets which remain risSel ana
uncl.an simply because the city cannot pay the cX-
orLtant duty imro~cd by the IA acou- home govern
mcnt on imported paving stones. lie s'e- prctenou'
building, which have fallen into dapdalion because,
wLlio over eight million dollars are set aside every
year for army estimates. only millon ana 9nai'T
are assigned for public worhs-thc greater art Ok tis
finding It's way into the pockets OF spanish ohcai9'
lie in shame from dcns Of nimoiahly houiis"hs
openly under the paid protection Of the spanish police
and is jo,fied hy crowds of ncsue- HNho have pech
lie in Londa., until recently, In spite Of tAe 100000
which England paid spain in l7l7 10 abolish the slave
-raiic. and by holdes OF Cinnamon, imported mo
virtual slavery in spite OF the treaty Of Ichn. And
wherever he bends his steps he finds hlmseh con
dontod by yampiii,h aud Imi erunious ta,lanS' VINO
have como 10 cuba TO suck Tie blood of The pe"l ''
and depart from 1t gorged in tie snortc-t possible
time.
ryon Poland hardly fires worse. The enormous
taxation hc has 10 meet gives the Cuban no right to
a voice in the public administrations Every once i
closed 10 him-cyen the munich al and judicial ap
lointmcut, forming part ~ the parqulslteS OF MS
ma-rcr-. The central power l. entiely in their hands
and local oiFco + but dole CATION Of the central
power. Un, recently. the town councils. which were
filled from the lieutenant governors list Of largest
contributors" werc controlled by ignorant and des-
potic military chiefs from whose calr.ce there was
no appeal Though the ~boodl," alderman IL not
unknown in cuba. the cuban alderman practically l.;
AMI of tho twenty -ht members Of the lat town
council ~ Havana. twenty seven werr Spanl-h-to
Five oniy Of the twenty three deputies To the Core-
elected in Arril Of last year we cuban autononsts.
Eighteen wcrr conservatives upholcrs of tho sn.
urcmacy Of spaln-.luccn Of these being 81 anl>h-
bora: aud three ony Of the thirteen senators wcro
autouoml,-, against twelve con-tiuonali-ts, ten of
whom wcrr Spanarl-. The autouomsts arc almost
always the representative, Of the educated class
Of judlr,-. in the Of tho worl, cuba has
hardly any, for there Is perfect solidarity between
au the governing classes. ard the administration of
important judicial districts j. frequently handed over
10 spanish tavern Keeper, and )w political advent
u,crs a. a reward for fidelity to tine constitutional
patty. "Ah Taco." Calculates our author (he is writ ,
lug lcttor To q ,uppo,iutiou, friend in a country ,
where the administration Of justice IS not the charge
or tie ~tato but fat business for the state. where
tho estimated revenues contain the Item of 100000
for stamped paper. and the expenditures that OF
f75,OGi 20 for outlay on account of the judiciary
leaving spending balance Of s27Io3s So what else
can Justice mcan in general and particular, IN whole
and in detail, than Jobbcry, jobbcry, jobbcry.'
Tho dense ignorance of the masses IS, alas, nm .
dcniAblc but who blame them for II, when Spain
has Intentionally and Systematically opposed the open
ing OF schools the theory that they are hotoed OF
liberal IDEAS and tho direct cause OF revolutionary
according to De Arais'guls famous
Of Is7I, 1t has been found necessary
IA maintain tho Cubans In ignorance "ln order
to uspancilc them" Yet, with al their Lack or edl-
cation they are not prone TO vice rs their moro
fortunate rulers statistics published In the "Gaceta
do Madrid" show that by far the greater number OK
the criminals convicted the island were born abroad
and that whc tho proportion To the native whites Is
~ to AIT and To the native negroes rs 10 e0S,
the propotlon to incomers from spain is as 10 a33
1he prorcss Of the islanders In letters. arts. science
and agriculture notably their cultivation OF the mag
nlnoent tobacco fields of tho Nnota Abalo stamps 4
them "a an entcrprlsing and enlightened race Inc ,
railroad and the telegraph were In use In CUBA before
suain awoho To n sense OF their value. Native Gu J.
bans were the first to demand the abolition Of slavery
I'm tho colony: and the blood of the 10000 patriots
VINO laid down their lives in the separatist wars Is
a sufficient ylndlcaiion of their spirit
Cabrera displays n simple eloqucnce, in his repu-
da,ion of tho calumny fastened on Cuban wives and
mothers which should bring blnshcs to the cheek OF
the calumuator Tho only taunt he does not success
fully rcpel is that OF gion; and even this ho
shows to be unjust. For is It to be wondered at he
asks pathetcay, that in a land where, up to 1871,